The 80s - Family Ties Appreciation Thread #9 - It Was A Nurturing Blend of Laughter and Heart

**Melis** · 05-14-2018, 05:35 PM

Family Ties Appreciation

Summary

Set in suburban Columbus, Ohio during the Reagan administration, Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) are baby boomers, liberals and former Hippies,[2] raising their three children: ambitious, would-be millionaire entrepreneur Alex (Michael J. Fox); fashion conscious, gossipy Mallory (Justine Bateman); and tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers). Married in 1964, Elyse is an independent architect and Steven, a native of Buffalo, New York, is the station manager of WKS, a local public television station.

Much of the humor of the series focuses on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the conservative politics which came to define the 1980s.[3] Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit conservative attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more materialistic young woman in contrast to her feminist mother.[2] Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, who was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares more the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Steven and Elyse have a fourth child, Andrew, born in 1984 whom Alex doted on and quickly moulded in his conservative image.

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Previous Threads

http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...ough-63187034/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...a-la-63170460/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...more-63161295/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...t-us-63153336/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-ties-appreciation-thread-4-sit-ubu-sit-good-dog-63142945/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...room-63094357/
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-.../#post51608601
http://www.fanforum.com/f129/family-...-thread-13903/

**Barrybgb** · 05-15-2018, 08:03 AM

Thanks! The title is so true.

For such a classic, beloved show, only 7 seasons sure doesn't seem like a long run, does it? I mean so many classics were 8 or 9 seasons or more.

**Melis** · 05-15-2018, 01:36 PM

No prob. I got the title off the back of one of the DVD sets. lol

Did it need more seasons, though? The kids were already grown.

**Barrybgb** · 05-16-2018, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melis (View Post)

No prob. I got the title off the back of one of the DVD sets. lol

Did it need more seasons, though? The kids were already grown.

Well, I guess it was the right time. I am sure Michael wanted to focus on his burgeoning movie career. He was 27 or so at the time although Alex was younger. I think it could of continued a season longer. Not sure how ratings were with the last season but I am sure they were still good.

**Melis** · 05-16-2018, 04:49 PM

Good to end on a high.

**Barrybgb** · 05-17-2018, 08:11 AM

That's true.

Another thing I remember about the finale were the end credits. After they showed the curtain call, the end credits ran over the cast and crew saying goodbye and thanks and whatnot. I remember the creator saying "This is it. Never again." He was right.

**Melis** · 05-17-2018, 05:44 PM

I remember that. So sweet and sad.

**Barrybgb** · 05-18-2018, 07:25 AM

I remember seeing Justine not too long after on "The Arsenio Hall Show". They must of filmed on the same lot because she said she had visited the soundstage before coming to do his show and said it was currently a basketball court.